Scrappy Scavenger
A 1 mana 1/1 that discovers a card is good value for the cost. Not only that, but Scavenger guarantees we find an efficient play with the remaining mana cost. If we play it on turn 1, we always find a Wisp, so it is Living Roots when we want it to be.
Not many cheap minions are good in the early game but also scale into the late game the way Scrappy Scavenger does. It is a decent turn 1 play that is also good when drawn off the top later. Regardless of Discover synergy, which is crucial for this set, Scavenger looks like a minion that can go into different kinds of Mage decks going forward.
Score: 3
Vault Breaker
Vault Breaker discounts cards we discover while it is in play. For it to be worthwhile on paper, we need to discover at least one card when we play it (making Vault Breaker a net 2 mana 2/4). But, ideally, we want to discover two cards for Vault Breaker to represent a constructed worthy investment.
We cannot rely on it to survive a turn, as it is an undersized body for a 3-drop, so it seems difficult to leverage well. Most discover effects cost at least 2 mana, so Vault Breaker only becomes a reasonable investment on turns 5-6.
Even in a deck that is built to discover, such as Quest Mage, we find it questionable. In other decks without a huge mass of discover effects, it looks like a non-starter.
Score: 1
Windswept Pageturner
Pageturner is a Chillwind Yeti that shoots at random enemies whenever we summon an Elemental. It does not trigger on playing itself, so it is very weak as an independent play. Considering its steep cost, when are we realistically going to activate it alongside other Elementals? Mecha-Shark was a similar card that was one mana cheaper, had a stronger trigger effect and was paired with a bulk discount option for Mechs. There is no comparable enabler in the Elemental tribe that can make Pageturner a strong play before turns 6-7, when we can potentially chain it with multiple 1-drops.
On the face of it, this minion looks thoroughly unplayable. We have no interest in dropping it on curve and hoping it survives. This rarely ever works.
Score: 1
Story of the Waygate
Bulk discount cards should always be given some respect, though this spell seems like a very tame version compared to cards like Incanter’s Flow or Siphon Mana of the past. Generating cards takes time and mana, even in a deck fully dedicated to generation, such as a Quest Mage deck. We cannot play this card on turn 2 and be happy.
Once we realize that optimal timing of this card is turn 5-6 at the earliest, when we have accumulated at least 3-4 generated cards, it becomes clear that Story of the Waygate is not particularly powerful. It requires a significant mass of generation tools to support yet does not guarantee a worthwhile payoff. We can still envision it as a late game combo piece, but it is unlikely to be consistently strong in the average game’s window of opportunity.
Score: 2
Storage Scuffle
This spell resembles many iterations of early game removal, which you could discount to 0 mana through some synergy. A free 3-damage removal spell is clearly good, as it helps us fend off aggression while getting us ahead on the board. The condition is not difficult to meet, as it simply relies on us to spend mana on cards that we wanted to have in our deck.
The first thought goes to Quest Mage, which should be full of discover effects, but there are plenty of Mage decks that can have a package of discover cards that can consistently activate Storage Scuffle too. The important thing is that Storage Scuffle is not unplayable at its baseline. Sometimes, we will play it on turn 3-5 for the full cost, remove an early game threat and be content. It is even better if we are running Primordial Glyph, Hidden Objects, Tide Pools or Scrappy Scavenger.
Score: 3
Relic of Kings
A late-game-oriented discover effect that does not guarantee a net discount on the discovered spell. We still need to invest 8 mana for the privilege of playing an 8-10 mana spell, one that does not necessarily represent good value for the deck we are playing.
Clearly, this is a card we never play outside of Quest Mage, where it becomes a potentially powerful payoff after we complete The Forbidden Sequence. At that stage, we get to cheat out a lot of mana since we get to cast two expensive spells for free.
Still, there is a significant percentage of spells in the discover pool that would not be useful in Quest Mage. Spells like Crane Game and Hydration Station are completely useless. Others like Everything Must Go or Table Flip are low impact.
When evaluating the entire pool, we can say that roughly half of the spells in the pool are good, so the odds are in favor of us finding at least one strong spell, though it is unlikely that Relic of Kings will be ‘perfect’ post-quest. Wheel of Death might be the wild card, for better or worse.
The bottom line is that Relic of Kings can only go into one deck.
Score: 2
Unearthed Artifacts
Summoning a random 2-drop is weak for 2 mana. Summoning a random 4-drop is worth around 3 mana, as there are plenty of undersized battlecry minions in the pool that we would rather not roll. When compared to Storage Scuffle, this is clearly a worse card. It always costs mana and its baseline effect is not good enough, so we are unlikely to play this on turn 2 and be content. It must be paired with a discover effect.
Since it must be paired with a discover effect to be worthwhile, it is less flexible. We cannot see this card being played in Mage decks carrying a modest discover package, as its baseline effect is unacceptable to them. Artifacts should only belong in heavy discover decks, such as Quest Mage, which may help it contest board while progressing the quest.
If Quest Mage does not see play, this is unlikely to see play.
Score: 2
Conjured Bookkeeper
Bookkeeper’s baseline effect is not good enough. This is weaker than Chillfallen Baron. The Kindred effect makes Bookkeeper very good, as it summons a decent number of stats for 3 mana while eventually drawing us two spells. In an Elemental Mage deck that does not run a lot of spells, Bookkeeper should be a very strong tutor card.
The Kindred requirement could mean that Bookkeeper is limited to an Elemental deck, which would significantly narrow down its playability. There are some generically strong Elementals that can see play in non-Elemental decks. Violet Spellwing, Arcane Artificer, Watercolor Artist and Sleet Skater are the notable ones to keep in mind. Some neutrals could also sneak into a non-Elemental deck, such as Glacial Shard.
But considering that Mage is generally not starved of card draw, we still find it unlikely that a non-Elemental Mage deck will accommodate Bookkeeper with such a tribal package.
Score: 2
Titanographer Osk
Osk is an example of a high variance card with a wild spectrum of outcomes. Titan abilities are generally very powerful, but Osk’s unreliability and cost means none of them can be counted on. Osk is also not a Titan itself, so it can only play one Titan ability. Its body on the board does not demand removal to the same extent, as it cannot cast a second ability if it survives.
This is a late game card that does not have any synergy in the deck it sees play in. There is no way to leverage it, as it is a standalone, unreliable effect. Usually, these cards do not see play in constructed, or they see play initially before falling off as decks are optimized to maximize synergy.
Score: 1
The Forbidden Sequence
The Forbidden Sequence requires a lot of support in the form of discover effects. Discover effects are necessary because they are required to both complete the quest and offer payoffs after it to leverage The Origin Stone. We suspect that Quest Mage will be filled to the brim with these effects while doing little else. This makes Quest Mage inflexible.
As for timing, in the context of such a deck, Quest Mage should be able to complete the quest relatively quickly (not later than turn 7 and often on turn 6). This represents a window of opportunity for the quest reward to make an impact in most matchups that are not extremely aggressive.
Lethality of Quest Mage should be moderate. The mana advantage gained from the Origin Stone’s durability can be overwhelming and represent some level of inevitability. However, it is ultimately a grindy win condition that cannot reliably kill opponents on demand, while possessing finite value. There is a world where opponents can outlast the Mage’s reward.
Quest Mage does seem to have a coherent strategy, and we do like the reward’s ability to cheat out a lot of free mana. We will respect that. We do have some doubts whether it can become a top tier deck due to its unreliable finisher. It may also be very difficult to play due the sheer randomness a player needs to navigate through.
Score: 3
Final Thoughts
The Lost City of Un’Goro Set Rank: 5th
Overall Power Ranking: 6th
Mage is a class in need of rejuvenation. It has been stagnant throughout the Emerald Dream, stuck on an underwhelming Protoss Mage archetype. This set introduces new excitement in the form of The Forbidden Sequence; a quest that should be highly attractive to players. We believe it is also one of the more promising ones in the set.
A ‘Discover’ Mage archetype has had different forms throughout the years but has always been popular, even when it was not the best thing to do. The Forbidden Sequence encourages us to run a deck full of discover effects, both for pre-quest and post-quest completion purposes.
What we like about the reward is that it can potentially gain us a huge mana advantage over the opponent, which is what successful decks do. Our main concern is that it may not reliably close out games, due to the randomness element and its finite value.
Mage does need the quest to succeed more than other classes, as other avenues do not look particularly promising. Protoss Mage is a strong candidate to accommodate Elise to its build, but the deck should not change much from what we are already familiar with. Elemental Mage support looks unimpressive. We will be surprised if this archetype returns to competitive play soon.
We suspect that Mage will be a popular class at launch, as players experiment with different approaches to Quest Mage. We can even see a Spell Quest Mage taking shape. The outcome of these experiments will determine whether Mage becomes a significant player in the format or returns to its backseat role of Colossus spamming.
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